EAST GERMANY: Front Man

In one of those mysterious bits of sleight of hand they love so well, the Russians last week switched their occupation of East Germany from military to civilian control—something the Western allies did four years ago. The brass-heavy Soviet Control Commission was abolished, and General Vasily Chuikov, top man in East Germany for nearly four years, was nominally reduced to mere command of Soviet occupation troops in East Germany.

As new occupation boss, or "supreme commissar," Moscow appointed bald Vladimir Semenov, a personable or non-Vishinsky type of diplomat, until recently chief political adviser to Chuikov and Soviet ambassador to the East German puppet government. A polished veteran of diplomacy although he is only 50, Semenov once taught philosophy, Soviet-style. He speaks German and some English. Across the negotiating table he gives the impression of at least comprehending points of view other than his own.

Structurally, Russia's change merely duplicates the occupation machinery of the three Western allies. Diplomatically, however, the maneuver has Westerners wondering. They guess that it presages a new and more formidable maneuver by Russia, aimed at sabotaging Western defense plans by appearing newly receptive to the idea of a united Germany.